Tag Archives: Jim Meehan

Over the Memorial Day weekend, I received some particularly exciting news: Cocktails for a Crowd was named a Spirited Award finalist in the “Best New Cocktail/Bartending Book” category. The awards – part of the Tales of the Cocktail conference held in July – are a very big deal within the drinks industry, honoring bars, bartenders, brand ambassadors, and writers/authors from all over the world.

Though I’ve attended the awards before (this will be my 7th time at Tales!), this is the first time I’ve been been a finalist. And it’s particularly meaningful that the nod is for Cocktails for a Crowd, because the book has its roots at Tales – where I first saw really good drinks being batched in enormous quantities – and incorporates advice and recipes from so many bartenders I’ve met there over the years.

So I’m going to go ahead and say thank you now to the bartenders who contributed recipes and insight for Cocktails for a Crowd: Jason Asher, Scott Baird, Corey Bunnewith, Martin Cate, Kevin Diedrich, Tasha Garcia-Gibson, Charles Joly, Ryan Maybee, Jim Meehan, Stephen Savage, Colin Shearn, and Kelley Swenson. Many of these fine folks are up for awards themselves this year, and at the awards ceremony, it’s for them I will be cheering myself most hoarse.

At the recent Manhattan Cocktail Classic, I organized and moderated a seminar, “Is There a Book Idea on Your Cocktail Menu?” As an author (and now, a hired gun for book proposals and book co-writing), this is a topic close to my heart.

My seminar was part of the “Industry Invitational,” meaning the room was packed with those in the trade. And I do mean the room was PACKED — I suspect that had a lot do do with the all-star panel, which included Jim Meehan of PDT and the PDT Cocktail Book, and Brad Thomas Parsons, author of Bitters — both fresh off of their respective James Beard wins! — Maks Pazuniak and Kirk Estopinal, bartenders and authors, and Hang Time publisher Lori Narlock.

A few key takeaways from the panel:

1. Be prepared to write a lengthy book proposal. This is the document you need to sell a book to a traditional publishing house — it outlines the scope of the book. Jim’s proposal ran about 20 pages (that’s about the same length my proposals tend to run for cookbook projects too). Meanwhile, Brad created a detailed book proposal that was 60 pages long.

Lori Narlock explained why the proposal is key: “That’s your blueprint,” she said. And from an publisher’s standpoint, “if you can’t write a proposal, you can’t write a book. You need to commit.”

2. Your agent is not your mom. Apparently some people get that confused.

3. Options exist outside of traditional publishing houses. For example, Maks and Kirk, who describe their Beta Cocktails book as “a punk rock complilation album,” went the self-publishing route. It took a $3,000 investment to get it done, but I’ve seen that lovely little volume sell out every time I go to Tales of the Cocktail, so I’ll assume they’ve recouped the expense (or are darn close). And even inside publishing houses, the “book” format has become fluid. I love what Lori has started: innovative mini “e-books” of 10 cocktail recipes each, as she ramps up Hang Time’s full-length book offerings.

4. Your publisher won’t sell the book — you have to do it! What I found most interesting here was how other people promote their books. For bartenders (Jim, Maks, Kirk), having the platform of the bar seems to be effective. Jim is also a proponent of using video to show how drinks are made and to build excitement. However…while social media has proven to be an effective tool for Brad for keeping Bitters in the conversation, Jim is emphatically — I might say gleefully!– not on either Facebook or Twitter.

Is there a book idea on your cocktail menu? If you’re a bartender or cocktail enthusiast considering writing a book, come hear an all-star panel of authors and publishers share their secrets about the book biz, and how they got their cocktail books written and published.

I’m really excited about this panel – as an author, this is a subject close to my heart. Hope to see you there!

Who: I’ll be moderating the panel, which includes Jim Meehan, managing partner of PDT and author of The PDT Cocktail Book; Lori Narlock, publisher, Hang Time Press; Brad Thomas Parsons, author, Bitters: A Spirited History of a Classic Cure-All; and Maks Pazuniak & Kirk Estopinal, co-authors/publishers of Beta Cocktails.

What: The cocktail book landscape is changing – fast! Will this be YOUR year to publish a cocktail book and kick your career up to the next level?

Two of 2011’s strongest sellers were Bitters (which went into its second publishing run just one month after it came out) and PDT’s acclaimed new cocktail book. But in addition to conventional publishing, new paths are available for the bartender (or cocktail enthusiast) with something to say. Consider the cult success of Rogue Cocktails/Beta Cocktails, which was self-published, or the even newer e-publishing options for iPads, Kindles and other devices. One new publisher (Hang Time Press) is even publishing e-books containing 10 drinks apiece.

* Learn about the changing book publishing landscape for cocktail books.
* Get the details on self-publishing and e-publishing a cocktail book.
* Hear from the experts how they sold their book projects.
* Gather ideas for developing and selling your own cocktail book.